China Times: Thailand to Permit Falungong Meeting in Bangkok

Bangkok, Jan. 29 (CNA) The government of Thailand is not opposed to Falun Gong organizations' plan to hold a meeting in Bangkok in April, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

Practitioners will come from various countries in the world to attend the meeting with a purpose to exchange experience in practicing Falun Gong, which is a mixture of traditional Chinese meditation techniques and ideas of Buddhism and Taoism.

The official compared the up-coming meeting to the one held in Hong Kong by Falun Gong organizations about two weeks ago, and warned that participants in the meeting in Bangkok must obey the law and must not criticize the Chinese government.

Security authorities will see to it that the participants do not violate Thailand's immigration law, he added. When asked whether China will give Thailand a blacklist of Falun Gong practitioners for reference, he did not answer directly. He only referred to it as a normal common practice.

Diplomatic sources said China had already asked Thailand to ban the meeting.